The instant invention relates to toy watercrafts, such as remote control toy boats and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved turbine mechanism for toy watercrafts. In accordance with the invention, the improved turbine mechanism provides directional control for the toy watercraft that enables the watercraft to be selectively propelled in a forward direction and a backward direction, as well as enables the watercraft to be selectively turned in the left and right directions. The improved turbine mechanism includes an impeller that is housed within a directional control valve that moves in response to the rotational direction of the impeller between a first position that directs the water jet rearwardly and a second position that directs that directs the water jet forwardly. The watercraft is propelled in the forward direction when the directional control valve directs the water jet rearwardly, and is propelled in the backward direction when the directional control valve directs the water jet forwardly. Thus, in accordance with the invention, the forward/reverse direction of the watercraft is controlled by controlling the direction of rotation of the impeller, which, in turn, controls the position of the directional control valve and the resulting water jet direction. In the preferred embodiment, two turbine mechanisms of the present invention are provided on the watercraft in a side-by-side relationship. In this twin-engine embodiment, each of the turbines is individually controlled in a manner that enables the watercraft to be turned in the left and right directions as desired, in addition to operating in the forward and reverse directions. The invention provides a safe and cost effective propulsion system for toy watercrafts and the like.
Toy vehicles have proven to be very popular toys for children of all ages. Many different types of toy vehicles have been provided in the past. For example, toy vehicles have been provided in the form of toy boats, toy cars, toy trucks, toy construction equipment, toy motorcycles and the like. Toy manufacturers are constantly trying to find ways to improve the operation of toy vehicles so that they look and function in a manner that is as real as possible and provide a safe toy for children, while also keeping the cost of the toy as low as possible. Many toy vehicles are made as miniaturized replicas of real full-size vehicles. Many such toys also include battery-driven motors that enable the toy to be self-propelled, thereby providing greater realism and further enjoyment for the user. Toy manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to make such toys safer, less expensive and more reliable, while still providing a fun and exciting toy.
Such toy watercrafts have been provided with remote control systems, such as radio frequency (RF) transmitters and receivers, which enable the user to remotely control the operation of the watercraft during operation. Other self-propelled toy watercrafts have been provided without remote control functionality, wherein the user simply turns on or off the power to the watercraft and the watercraft operates without user control.
Toy watercrafts have been provided with propeller and jet drive systems for propelling the watercraft across water. In propeller drive systems, a propeller is provided that is driven by a drive shaft connected to a motor, such as a miniature electric motor, housed within the watercraft. A rudder and steering control box are typically provided for directional control of propeller-driven toy watercraft. Such propeller-driven toy watercrafts have been provided in the past in a variety of forms and have proven to be a very popular toy for children of all ages. However, such prior propeller-driven toy watercrafts have had some disadvantages. For example, the structure of the drive shaft assembly of prior toy watercrafts have enabled water to enter the hull of the boat, thereby causing a significant amount of water to collect in the hull of the watercraft when floating or operating in water. Prior toy watercrafts have used epoxy glue, resin and/or grease around the propeller shaft in an attempt to reduce or prevent water from entering the hull. However, these prior techniques have not eliminated the problem of water entering the hull around the drive shaft assembly.
Drain holes have typically been provided in prior toy watercrafts to enable the user to periodically drain the collected water from the watercraft housing by removing the watercraft from the water and inverting the watercraft, so that the hull water drains out through the drain holes. The frequency at which the user must drain the boat hull depends on the rate at which the propeller assembly allows water to enter the hull. Many of the prior toy watercrafts have required frequent draining, thereby reducing the enjoyment of the toy. Not only can the water entering the hull cause damage to the internal parts of the toy watercraft, but it also adds substantial additional weight to the watercraft, which adversely effects the operation thereof. The additional weight of even a relatively small amount of water in the hull can prevent the watercraft from performing optimally. Larger amounts of water in the hull can prevent the watercraft from balancing or planing on the surface of the water, thereby dramatically reducing the performance and enjoyment of the toy watercraft.
Another disadvantage of propeller driven toy watercraft is that the propeller drive shaft assembly is typically constructed in a manner that enables the drive shaft to vibrate significantly during operation, thereby decreasing the efficiency and performance of the toy watercraft during operation. A further disadvantage of such prior propeller drive assemblies is that they are relatively noisy during operation, which also results in (or is indicative of) less than optimal performance for the drive assembly. Yet another disadvantage of prior propeller-driven toy watercraft designs is that the manner in which the propeller is attached to the propeller shaft adversely impacts the propeller performance. For example, prior propellers have been attached to the shaft in a manner that creates an unsymmetrical or unbalanced condition which, during high rotational speed, causes turbulence and/or vibration that prevents the propeller from performing optimally. One example of a prior propeller attachment method is to use a fastener, such as a screw, through the side of the propeller and into contact with the shaft. Prior propeller attachment methods have also made it difficult or impossible to replace the propeller in the event that the propeller becomes damaged, such as by an impact with another object. Even slight damage to the propeller can seriously reduce the operational efficiency thereof. Major propeller damage, such as loss of one or more propeller blades, can render the toy inoperative. If the damaged propeller cannot be replaced, the toy can no longer be enjoyed by the user. A further disadvantage of prior toy watercraft designs is that the connection between the shaft and the motor is not done in a way that assures reliable and maximum transfer of power from the motor to the shaft. A still further disadvantage of propeller driven toy watercraft is that the propeller is exposed and can result in injury to the operator or other party if they contact the spinning propeller during operation of the toy.
All of the above-noted disadvantages of prior propeller-driven toy watercraft designs contribute to a less than ideal product from the end-user""s perspective. Such toys are typically purchased with the hope and/or expectation that the watercraft will perform optimally and for a long period of time. These expectations are not always met by prior toy watercraft designs as a result of one or more of the above-noted problems and/or other problems with the propeller drive shaft assembly. Moreover, propeller-driven toy watercraft drive assemblies can be relatively complex, expensive, difficult to assemble, and/or subject to damage or failure. The instant inventor has addressed many of these problems with propeller-driven toy watercraft in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/997,486 entitled xe2x80x9cPropeller Shaft Assembly for Toy Watercraftxe2x80x9d filed Oct. 16, 2001, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. However, a need exists for an improved propulsion system for toy watercrafts that eliminates the need for a propeller, but still provides directional control for the watercraft.
Jet-driven toy watercrafts are also known. For example, toy watercraft have been provided that replicate a jet ski or jet boat. The drive systems for jet-driven toy watercraft typically include an impeller connected to a miniature electric motor that drives the impeller in a manner that creates a water jet force that propels the watercraft in the direction of the jet force. While jet drives provide reliable propulsion for the watercraft, the problem that arises is how to provide directional control for a jet driven toy watercraft, without the use of the rudder and associated steering control box provided on propeller-driven watercrafts. One technique for providing left/right directional control for watercrafts having jet drives is to provide a moveable output nozzle for the water jet which can selectively direct the water jet to one side or the other, thereby imparting a turning force to the watercraft. This technique, however, does not enable forward/reverse control for the watercraft, and also requires an expensive and relatively complex jet nozzle assembly. Another technique used to control the forward/reverse direction of jet watercraft is to provide a U-shaped bucket that can selectively redirect the water jet forwardly by moving the U-shaped bucket into the water jet stream in a manner that causes a redirection thereof after the water jet exits the jet nozzle. The redirected water jet provides a rearward jet force on the watercraft, thereby enabling the watercraft to be propelled in the rearward direction. While this technique does provide forward/reverse directional control for the watercraft, the U-shaped bucket, mechanical linkage and control assembly are relatively complex and expensive, particularly for toy watercrafts. The moving parts associated with the bucket system are also subject to damage and/or malfunction. A variety of other, related techniques have been developed for controlling jet powered watercrafts. Some exemplary (but by no means exhaustive) prior art impeller-type watercrafts are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 115,425 to Boyman; 1,197,181 to Buck; 3,046,697 to Pullen; 3,142,285 to Sorrentino et al.; 3,183,663 to Sfredda; 3,183,878 to Aschauer; 3,224,408 to Sfredda; 3,276,415 to Laing; 3,882,647 to Taggart; 3,889,623 to Arnold; 4,238,928 to Stupica; 4,274,357 to Dawson; 4,538,996 to Inwood; 4,540,376 to Turbowitz et al.; 5,203,729 to Beller et al.; as well as GB 2 195 261 to Tong. While these and other jet watercraft systems provide various techniques for operating and controlling impeller or jet-type watercraft, they are all relatively complex, expensive to manufacture and/or are not particularly well suited for use in connection with a jet-powered toy watercraft. Thus, further improvements in directional control systems for jet-powered toy watercrafts are desired.
The instant invention is designed to address these and other problems with prior art toy watercraft designs by providing an improved turbine (or jet drive) mechanism for toy watercrafts that can be used in connection with, for example, radio control full function toy boats and the like. The improved turbine mechanism enables safe, reliable and efficient directional control for toy watercrafts, without requiring any complex or expensive mechanical parts or assembly.
In accordance with the invention, a directional control valve is used to selectively propel the watercraft in the forward or reverse directions. A water impeller (or rotor) is housed inside the directional control valve and the valve is in a racket-shaped recess in the bottom of the boat. The recess has a front and a rear opening. The directional control valve is designed to rotate within the recess such that only one of the front and rear openings is open at any one time. The valve rotates under the jet force of the water between first and second positions defined by cooperating guiding ribs on the valve and the recess in the hull. The valve is selectively moved between the first and second positions in response to the rotation direction of the impeller. In the first position, the valve closes the forward opening in the recess and enables the water jet created by the impeller to exit the rear opening in the recess, thereby propelling the watercraft in the forward direction. In the second position, the valve closes the rear opening in the recess and enables the water jet created by the impeller to exit the front opening in the recess, thereby propelling the watercraft in the rearward direction. Thus, by changing the direction of the impeller rotation (using an RF remote control or the like) the position of the valve is moved and the forward/reverse direction of the watercraft is controlled. When two such turbine mechanisms are used in side-by-side relation on the hull of the watercraft, the watercraft can also be controlled to turn in the left and right directions either by operating one turbine at a time or by operating the turbines at different speeds and/or in different directions. In this way, the invention provides a safe, reliable and low-cost propulsion and directional control system for toy watercraft that overcomes many of the disadvantages of prior toy watercraft designs.
In accordance with a primary aspect of the invention, a turbine assembly for use in a toy watercraft is provided which includes: a turbine housing defining an impeller cavity and including a forward opening and a rearward opening; a directional control valve positioned in the impeller cavity and having a valve opening in a sidewall thereof, wherein the directional control valve is operable to rotate to a first position which closes the forward opening in the turbine housing and aligns the valve opening with the rearward opening in the turbine housing, and a second position which closes the rearward opening in the turbine housing and aligns the valve opening with the forward opening in the turbine housing; and an impeller positioned in the directional control valve, wherein rotation of the impeller in a first direction causes the directional control valve to move to the first position and rotation of the impeller in a second direction causes the directional control valve to move to the second position.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a toy watercraft is provided which includes: a watercraft housing having a hull portion; a motor; a motor control system for selectively energizing the motor and controlling the direction of operation thereof; and a turbine assembly in the hull portion of the watercraft, wherein the turbine assembly includes: a turbine housing defining an impeller cavity and including a forward opening and a rearward opening; a directional control valve positioned in the impeller cavity and having a valve opening in a sidewall thereof, wherein the directional control valve is operable to rotate to a first position which closes the forward opening in the turbine housing and aligns the valve opening with the rearward opening in the turbine housing, and a second position which closes the rearward opening in the turbine housing and aligns the valve opening with the forward opening in the turbine housing; and an impeller operatively connected to the motor and positioned in the directional control valve, wherein rotation of the impeller in a first direction causes the directional control valve to move to the first position and rotation of the impeller in a second direction causes the directional control valve to move to the second position. In this way, the watercraft can be selectively propelled in the forward and reverse directions by controlling the direction of rotation of the impeller.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a toy watercraft, is provided which includes two of the above-described turbine assemblies in side-by-side relation on the hull of the watercraft. A pair of miniature electric motors are used to individually control the speed and direction of rotation of each motor. In this way, the watercraft is controlled, using a remote control unit or the like, to operate in the forward and reverse directions, as well as in right and left turning directions.